|
Payola$
| |
|
| |
|
Miami Vice Performer
|
|
|
Members (original)
|
Paul Hyde (vocals/guitars)
Bob Rock (synth-guitar/vocals) Christopher Taylor (drums) Mick Ronson (keyboards) |
|
Active
|
1978-1988
2003-2008 |
The Payola$ was a Canadian new wave band whose song "Eyes of a Stranger" appeared in the episode "Badge of Dishonor" of the series Miami Vice.
Career[]
The group was formed in 1978 by Paul Hyde and Bob Rock, who joined up with drummer Taylor Little and bassist Gary Middleclass. The band took their name from the famous American music scandal of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Payola, during which DJs and record companies were paid to perform certain music on the radio, and recorded their first single, "China Boys" in 1979, later releasing an EP, Introducing Payola$ in 1980, then their first LP, In a Place Like This in 1981. Neither were commercially successful, and Little let the band, replaced by Christopher Taylor, then Mick Ronson joined, and the group's fortunes changed. The 1982 album No Stranger to Danger featured the song "Eyes of a Stranger", which was featured in the 1983 film Valley Girl. Their 1983 release Hammer on a Drum was also successful, but the band was having difficulty breaking into the US market because of their name and its' negative connotations in the radio industry, and in 1985 brought in producer David Foster on their album Here's The World For Ya and changed their name to "Paul Hyde and the Payolas", but the album flopped, later Hyde and Rock contributed to the Canadian charity single "Tears are Not Enough". In 1987 the band's final album, Under the Volcano was released under the name "Rock and Hyde" and did well, but the Payola$ went on a 15 year long hiatus in 1988, ending in 2003 when they reunited for one-off shows, limited concert dates, and one studio album, Langford Part One, before going back on hiatus in 2008. Though no official breakup was announced, their website was shut down and Hyde resumed his solo career began in 1989 after the first Payola$ hiatus.